USC Dream Team : Students Become Scholars in Novel Program

At USC, a group of children who have grown up in the college’s shadow gather six mornings a week to learn how to speak in public, how to make decisions and how to manage their time.

But first, they learn to dream.

Carlos Morataya, 13, who as a young child watched students toting backpacks on USC’s campus, sees himself becoming one of them. Jasmine Tigolo, a 12-year-old girl once too shy to raise her hand in class, wants to study to become a veterinarian. And Trunnell Powell, 13, who preferred being class clown to school scholar, aspires to be the first of his siblings to attend USC.

As students in the university’s year-old Pre-College Enrichment Academy, their aspirations--once so distant--are closer to becoming a reality.

The academy is the core component of the Neighborhood Academic Initiative, a university-sponsored effort that provides programs and services to the mostly working-class families living in the neighborhoods around USC.

The novel program selects seventh-graders from James Foshay and John Adams junior high schools in South Los Angeles for a six-year program that teaches them self-esteem, respect for others and the academic skills necessary to get into college and succeed there, said program director James C. Fleming.

These are not gifted students who earn straight A’s and make the honor roll, said Fleming, who developed the program at the behest of university officials concerned about increasing the enrollment of African-Americans and Latinos. They are average students--those who receive mediocre grades, do not always get their homework done on time and are in danger of slipping through the cracks.

“Our focus is on the average student,” Fleming said, “because our premise is we can take an average student, and in six years render that student a scholar.”

With an operating budget of $168,000 a year, the academy accepts about 60 new students annually, Fleming said. The youngsters are treated like star pupils. Called scholars instead of students, they are asked for their opinions on weighty issues, ranging from the Democratic National Convention to the death penalty, and they are expected to complete every bit of the mounds of homework they carry home each night.

At the end of the program, if the students meet USC’s admission standards they will receive a four-year scholarship to the university--an offer worth about $34,000 a year to the class of 1996-97, at current inflation rates. If they choose not to attend USC as undergraduates, they can use the scholarship money to pay for two years of graduate school at the university, Fleming said.

In times of escalating tuition and diminishing financial aid, such an opportunity would be invaluable for any child. But it is of particular significance in this community, where many children must overcome the barriers of poor basic skills, language and poverty before they can think of college--particularly USC.

“They’re in awe of this place,” Fleming said of the university. “They know this is a ticket to a good career. But the kids never saw themselves as being able to go here. It’s too expensive, number one. And each year admission requirements are getting higher.”

Carlos Morataya grew up blocks away from the university in a neighborhood where drugs are sold not far from his front door. His grades were low, Carlos said, and he could not have cared less about doing his homework.

Still, he admired the college students he saw walking onto the USC campus. He recalled thinking: “I’d like to go there, but how can I? I didn’t have anybody to pay my way to college. Then when this (program) came, I thought, I have possibilities.”

To make sure students get into college and do well, the academy puts them through a rigorous academicregimen.

Two teachers from Adams and Foshay instruct students in language arts and college skills in the morning. The students complete the day with a regular academic program at their respective junior highs, working with four other teachers who report daily on their performance. Additional tutoring comes from USC students and retired USC faculty.

The youngsters stay after school every day except Friday for an hour of tutoring, Fleming said. On Saturdays, they return to USC for three hours to review a particular subject or do something creative, such as write a poem.

Their parents participate in the program’s Family Development Institute, which offers programs on subjects ranging from adult literacy to nutrition. Parental participation is mandatory for the children to be in the academy, Fleming said.

The rigorous schedule follows an intensive selection process that involves 14 elementary schools and requires prospective participants to write essays, go through interviews and sign contracts before being admitted.

At first, it seemed a little much to students such as Trunnell Powell. “I was more into having fun than I was studying,” the youngster said one afternoon.

But he shaped up. “I was just sitting in my room thinking, and I realized this was a great opportunity and I shouldn’t let it go,” Trunnell said. “To even work at McDonald’s, you’ve got to have an education.”

Two of the program’s teachers say they have seen their students’ grades improve markedly. The number of students earning A’s and Bs in their classes jumped nearly 40% between the first semester and the end of the year, said Nita Moots Kincaid, the program’s academic coordinator.

Cynthia Amos, a teacher at Foshay Junior High, said: “I would stand any of my kids against any other seventh- or eighth-grader in any prep school around here. I believe they’d hold their own. And I would not have said that when they first came in.”

By the time they are done, students will have learned to take notes, research papers and take college entrance exams.

They also are taught to abide by a “scholar’s code of ethics,” which states they are to treat all people with respect and conduct themselves with maturity and dignity. And teachers conduct such self-esteem-building exercises as “mood checks” and “fantasy flights.”

“We want to help them navigate the dangers” outside the classroom, Fleming said. “If you see drug dealers all day, you can’t just ignore it. So we say: ‘How do you feel about it?’ ”

The success of the program cannot be measured until members of its first class walk across the stage with their high school diplomas in 1997. Those who go on to college will be expected to go back to their communities, encourage the students coming behind them and tutor other children coming through the academy.

The scholars say they will not mind. In fact, it is something some of them dream about.

“Most of the time during ‘fantasy flight,’ ” Trunnell said, “I think about how I’m going to come back and help this program.”